Government shutdown becomes longest in U.S. history, enters 'uncharted territory'

Saturday - 12/01/2019 10:19

NBC News

“We’re talking about $5.7 billion for a wall, but the costs that are inflicted on the economy are orders of magnitude beyond that $5.7 billion,” one expert warned.

Jeff Estes has worked as a federal contractor for 35 years in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Now he and his colleagues are out of work because of a partial government shutdown that as of Saturday became the longest in American history.

For Estes, a union official and electrician, the shutdown is becoming particularly burdensome because he’s paying for his two kids to attend college, and the government’s recent decision to change contractors forced him and his coworkers to reapply for their jobs.